American Civil War and Abolition of Slavery | History Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

The American Civil War: An Overview

Key Events and Outcomes

• In January 1861, among the 34 states in the United States, seven Southern slave states declared their secession from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America, known as the Confederacy or the South. Over time, the Confederacy expanded to include eleven states. However, it was never recognized diplomatically by any foreign country.
• The remaining states that stayed loyal to the Union were referred to as the North. The war resulted in a staggering loss of life, with over 600,000 Union and Confederate soldiers dead. It also caused widespread destruction, particularly in the South, where much of the infrastructure was ruined.
• Ultimately, the Confederacy collapsed, and slavery was abolished. This led to the period of Reconstruction, during which efforts were made to restore national unity and ensure civil rights for the freed slaves.

Series of Events Leading to Civil War

The Three-Fifths Compromise (1787):

• It was an agreement between southern and northern states that helped secure the ratification of the Constitution.
• Under this compromise, three-fifths of the slave population would be counted for purposes of tax distribution and determining the number of representatives each state could have in the House of Representatives. This meant that one slave would be counted as three-fifths of a person.

Effect: Increased sectionalism between the North and South.

The Northwest Ordinance (1787):

• The ordinance established the Northwest Territory, the first organized territory of the United States, from lands beyond the Appalachian Mountains, between British Canada to the north and the Ohio River to the south, with the upper Mississippi River forming the western boundary.
• The ordinance ensured that the Northwest Territory would be free from slavery.

Effect: The prohibition of slavery effectively established the Ohio River as the boundary between free and slave territory in the region between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. This division set the stage for national competition over admitting free and slave states, a critical issue in American politics throughout the 19th century and leading up to the Civil War.

Eli Whitney’s Invention of the Cotton Gin (1793):

• Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin revolutionized the cotton industry in the United States by making the removal of cotton seeds 50 times faster.
• This technological advancement led to a greater demand for slaves in the Deep South.

Effect: Increase in the number of slaves and the expansion of slavery.

After the Louisiana Purchase (1803):

• Following the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803, the United States doubled in size.
• The principle of Manifest Destiny spurred westward expansion and intensified the debate over slavery.
• This purchase granted the United States control over vast lands west of the Mississippi River.

Effect: As Americans pushed westward, the issue of whether the new territories would permit slavery or be free became a pressing concern.

Missouri Compromise (1820):

• The Missouri Compromise marked the first major confrontation over slavery in the western territories.
• When Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state, it threatened to upset the balance of power in the Senate, which had an equal number of free and slave states at the time.
• To maintain this balance, it was proposed that Missouri enter as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Additionally, the compromise prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36° 30´ latitude line, except for Missouri.

Effect: It temporarily eased sectional differences but highlighted the volatility of the slavery issue.
In 1854, the Missouri Compromise was repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and three years later, it was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott decision, which ruled that Congress did not have the authority to prohibit slavery in the territories.

Nullification Crisis (1832):

• In 1832, South Carolina nullified the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 within its borders and threatened to secede if the federal government attempted to collect these tariff duties.
• President Andrew Jackson viewed nullification as a serious challenge to federal authority and equated it with treason.
• The crisis was resolved with the passage of a new tariff that was acceptable to South Carolina.

Effect: This event marked the first act of defiance in the South, threatening secession over federal policies perceived as benefiting the North at the expense of the South.

The Compromise of 1850:

• The Compromise of 1850 consisted of five laws passed in September 1850 to address the contentious issue of slavery.
• In 1849, California sought admission to the Union as a free state, which would disrupt the balance between free and slave states in the U.S. Senate.
• The Compromise of 1850 allowed California to enter as a free state, while the remaining territories acquired from Mexico were organized into New Mexico and Utah, where the issue of slavery would be determined by popular sovereignty.
• The Fugitive Slave Act was amended, and the slave trade in Washington, D.C., was abolished, although slavery itself was not prohibited.

Effect: The Compromise intensified the debate over slavery in the new territories by placing the decision in the hands of the state's citizens.
While it achieved its goal of keeping the nation united temporarily, the compromise ultimately deepened the divisions over slavery, leading to increased conflict in the following decade.

The Fugitive Slave Act (1850):

• The Fugitive Slave Act mandated the return of all escaped slaves to their masters upon capture and required officials and citizens in free states to cooperate in this process.
• It denied fugitives the right to a jury trial, and those who assisted escaped slaves faced imprisonment and fines.

Effect: The Act was one of the most controversial aspects of the 1850 compromise, heightening Northern fears of a "slave power conspiracy." For escaped slaves attempting to build new lives in the North, the law was catastrophic, leading many to flee to Canada.
The Fugitive Slave Act galvanized abolitionists and brought the issue of slavery to the forefront of national debate. Many who had previously been indifferent to slavery became staunch opponents of the institution.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852):

• Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, depicted the harsh realities of slavery through the story of an enslaved African American, Uncle Tom, and his cruel master.
• The book, which became the best-selling novel of the 19th century, had a profound impact in the North, shifting public opinion against slavery.
• It provoked strong reactions from pro-slavery advocates, who published counter-narratives like Aunt Phillis’s Cabin.

Effect: Stowe's work framed slavery as a moral issue, exacerbating tensions between the North and South.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854):

• The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed for the possibility of slavery in territories north of the 36° 30´ latitude line.
• Proposed by Senator Stephen Douglas, the Act divided the Nebraska territory into Kansas and Nebraska, with the decision on slavery left to the settlers through popular sovereignty.
• The Act was supported by Southerners but met with strong opposition from Northerners, who saw it as a betrayal.
• The contentious nature of the Act led to a flood of pro- and anti-slavery settlers into Kansas, resulting in violent conflicts and the establishment of rival governments.

Effect: The Act left little room for compromise, as both sides were willing to fight for their beliefs, pushing the nation closer to civil war.

Founding of the Republican Party (1854):

• The Republican Party was formed in 1854 in response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which threatened to expand slavery into new territories. Northerners, particularly Free-Soil and Abolitionist groups, viewed the Act as an aggressive move by the slave-owning South.
• The party also aimed to promote a more vigorous modernization of the economy. Initially, the Republican Party had little presence in the South, but by 1858, it had gained majorities in nearly every Northern state by uniting former Whigs and Free Soil Democrats.
• With the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and its role in leading the Union to victory and the abolition of slavery, the Republican Party became a dominant force in national politics.

Dred Scott Decision (1857):

• Dred Scott was a slave who claimed his freedom because his master had taken him to free territories, Illinois and Wisconsin. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott, as a slave, was not entitled to freedom and that African Americans could not be citizens of the United States.
• The court ruled that Scott could not file a lawsuit because he was considered property, not a citizen. Additionally, the court stated that Congress had no authority to regulate slavery in the territories, making slavery legal in all territories and declaring the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional.

Effect: The decision intensified sectional conflict and brought the country closer to civil war. It made slavery a moral issue in the North and a constitutional issue in the South, leaving no room for compromise.

Harper’s Ferry and John Brown (1859):

• John Brown and a group of abolitionists organized a raid on Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, targeting a federal arsenal.
• Brown hoped to incite a massive slave uprising by seizing weapons and leading enslaved people to freedom.
• However, the raid failed, and Brown was captured, tried for murder and treason, and sentenced to death.

Effect: Many Northerners viewed Brown as a hero and martyr, while Southerners perceived the raid as evidence that the North intended to destroy slavery and the Southern way of life.

• This event convinced many Southerners that war was imminent.

Lincoln Elected as President (1860):

• Southerners reacted strongly to the election of President Abraham Lincoln, viewing him as an abolitionist and a threat to their way of life.
• They believed that secession was their only option to preserve their rights, particularly the right to own slaves.
• They argued that the Declaration of Independence justified their actions, as it stated that the people have the right to alter or abolish a government that denies their rights.

Effect: In 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union, followed by other Southern states such as Alabama, Florida, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi by February 1861.

Fort Sumter (1861):

• After Lincoln's inauguration, he asserted that no state could lawfully leave the Union and promised not to start a war.
• However, the South began to seize federal properties, including forts and post offices. They aimed to take control of Fort Sumter in South Carolina.
• In April 1861, Confederate forces demanded the surrender of Fort Sumter, but Major Robert Anderson of the Union refused.
• The Confederates bombarded the fort until Anderson was forced to surrender due to lack of ammunition.

Effect: The brutal but inevitable Civil War in America had begun.

Emancipation Proclamation

• On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that “all persons held as slaves” in the rebellious areas “are, and henceforward shall be free.” This bold move came after persistent pressure from abolitionists who urged Lincoln to free all slaves.
• In the summer of 1862, Horace Greeley, a prominent Republican editor of the New York Tribune, wrote an editorial titled “The Prayer of Twenty Millions,” calling for swifter emancipation of slaves. Greeley argued that it was essential to destroy slavery to suppress the rebellion effectively.

Lincoln's Response:
Lincoln responded to Greeley in a letter on August 22, 1862, emphasizing his primary duty as president was to save the Union, not to focus solely on slavery. He stated:

“If there be those who would not save the Union, unless they could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them. If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery...”

Lincoln’s statement reflected his commitment to preserving the Union as the war's central objective, even as he recognized the growing importance of the slavery issue.

Shift in War Goals:

• On September 22, 1862, Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, announcing that slaves in states or parts of states still in rebellion by January 1, 1863, would be declared free. Despite the initial limitations of the Emancipation Proclamation, it marked a significant shift in the North's war objectives. The war was no longer solely about reuniting the nation; it was also about ending slavery.

Limitations of the Emancipation Proclamation:

• The Emancipation Proclamation had its limitations. It applied only to states that had seceded from the Union, leaving slavery intact in loyal border states. Additionally, it exempted parts of the Confederacy already under Union control. Most importantly, the freedom it promised was contingent upon Union military victory.

Lincoln's Position:

• Lincoln was not an abolitionist or a Radical Republican. Before the war, he did not advocate for immediate abolition and sometimes held views typical of his time. However, he displayed significant moral and political growth during the Civil War. His decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, though controversial, energized many Republicans and shifted the war's focus toward emancipation.

Significance of the Emancipation Proclamation

• The Emancipation Proclamation represented a pivotal moment in the war. It not only aimed to inspire support for the Union cause among black individuals and slaves in the Confederacy but also sought to prevent foreign powers like England and France from supporting the Confederacy. By making the eradication of slavery an explicit goal of the Union, the Proclamation linked support for the South with support for slavery, influencing public opinion in Britain.
• Although the Proclamation did not end slavery nationwide, it transformed the war's character. With each advance of Federal troops, the domain of freedom expanded. Slaves played a crucial role in the Confederate war effort, and the Proclamation inspired hope and encouraged thousands to escape to Union lines.
• The Proclamation also opened the door for black men to join the Union Army and Navy, leading to the enlistment of nearly 200,000 black soldiers and sailors by the war's end. It confirmed that the war for the Union was also a war for freedom and added moral force to the Union cause.

Recognizing the need for a constitutional amendment to guarantee the abolishment of slavery, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation laid the groundwork for the 13th Amendment, which formally abolished slavery in all U.S. states after the Union victory in the Civil War.

Key Points:

• Issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, declaring freedom for slaves in rebellious states.
• Pressure from abolitionists and figures like Horace Greeley influenced Lincoln's decision.
• Shifted war goals from solely preserving the Union to including the end of slavery.
• Limitations included not affecting loyal border states and depending on Union military victory.
• Opened doors for black soldiers in the Union Army and Navy.
• Paved the way for the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery nationwide.

Analysis of Northern Victory in the Civil War

Historians have debated whether the Confederacy could have won the war. Most scholars argue that a Confederate victory was at least possible. The North's advantages in population and resources made Northern victory likely but not guaranteed. If the Confederacy had employed unconventional tactics, they might have been able to hold out long enough to exhaust the Union.

Strategies and Goals:

• The Confederates did not need to invade and hold enemy territory to win; they only needed to fight a defensive war to convince the North that the cost of winning was too high.
• The North, on the other hand, needed to conquer and hold vast stretches of enemy territory and defeat Confederate armies to secure victory.
• President Abraham Lincoln was not a military dictator and could only continue the war as long as the American public supported it.

Turning Points:

• The Confederacy aimed to win independence by outlasting Lincoln. However, after Lincoln defeated General George B. McClellan in the 1864 election, the South's hopes for a political victory diminished.
• Lincoln had secured support from Republicans, War Democrats (a faction of Democrats favoring the war against the Confederacy), border states, emancipated slaves, and neutrality from Britain and France.

The Union held a significant long-term advantage over the Confederacy in industrial strength and population. Confederate actions only delayed their defeat. Even as the Confederacy was visibly collapsing in 1864-65, many Confederate soldiers continued to fight fiercely.

Lincoln’s Leadership and the Emancipation Proclamation:

• Lincoln’s ability to articulate the national purpose and keep the border states committed to the Union cause was crucial. Although his approach to emancipation was gradual, the Emancipation Proclamation effectively utilized the President’s war powers.

International Relations and Blockades:

• The Confederate government struggled to enlist European powers, especially Britain and France, to intervene militarily in the war. Southern leaders aimed to persuade European nations to help break the Union's blockade of Southern ports and cities.
• Lincoln’s naval blockade proved highly effective, stopping 95% of trade goods, leading to a significant decline in imports and exports to the South.
• The abundance of European cotton, Britain’s opposition to slavery, and Lincoln’s Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico blockades diminished the likelihood of British or French intervention in the war.

Impact of Union Victory:

• The Union victory had a profound impact on world history, energizing popular democratic forces.
• A Confederate victory would have resulted in a resurgence of slavery rather than the promotion of freedom.

Impact of the Civil War

The Civil War was a painful but necessary process to restore the nation’s health. Despite its severe costs, it ultimately brought great benefits to the United States.

Severe and Costly Conflict

• The Civil War, concluding with the South's surrender in 1865, was the most expensive and deadly war on American soil, with approximately 1,030,000 casualties, including about 620,000 soldier deaths, primarily due to disease.
• The war's toll was comparable to the combined deaths of all other U.S. wars.
• The Union’s 1879 estimate of wartime expenses exceeded $6 billion, equivalent to over $71 billion today. This figure did not include ongoing veteran pensions that continued into the twentieth century.
• The South faced a catastrophic economic collapse, with Confederate bonds becoming worthless, and most banks and railroads going bankrupt.
• Inflation in the South soared over 9,000% by war’s end, rendering Confederate currency nearly valueless.
• The physical destruction was immense, particularly in the South, with homes burned or looted, crops and livestock lost, and infrastructure like buildings, bridges, and roads devastated.

Untold Blessings

End of Slavery:

• The war brought a sudden end to slavery, which was deeply embedded in Southern culture. In 1860, there were nearly four million slaves in the U.S.; by the end of 1865, slavery was abolished in both the North and South.

Reconstruction Amendments:

• The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, known as the Reconstruction Amendments, addressed the legal and political status of African-Americans.
• The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude.
• The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S., including African-Americans, and mandated equal protection under the law.
• The 15th Amendment granted all male citizens the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Union Preservation and Reconstruction:

• The Civil War reinforced national unity and clarified the balance of power between states and the federal government.
• While often simplified as a conflict over slavery, the war was fundamentally about states’ rights and the extent of federal authority.
• Reconstruction involved military oversight of the South and efforts to integrate former slaves into society as full citizens.
• Despite setbacks, such as the Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation, the gains made during Reconstruction provided a foundation for future civil rights advancements.
• Legal recognition of African-American marriages and families, independence of black churches, and sharecropping offered former slaves more freedom compared to slavery.

Medical Advances:

• The U.S. Sanitary Commission was established in 1861 to improve conditions in field hospitals, emphasizing ventilation, clean water, and nutrition.
• Innovations during the war laid the groundwork for modern medicine, including hospital organization, embalming, surgical techniques, anesthesia, and ambulance services.

New Military Technologies:

• Considered the first modern war, the Civil War saw the introduction of advanced military technologies, such as rifled guns and the minie ball bullet, leading to changes in warfare strategies, including trench warfare.
• Other technological advancements included extensive telegraph lines, mass-produced canned food, the transcontinental railroad, and the beginnings of industrialism spurred by wartime production.

Impact on Women:

• The Civil War expanded women’s roles and responsibilities, with nearly 20,000 women directly supporting the Union effort in various capacities.
• The war prompted women to reconsider their societal roles and fostered a sense of independence that would shape their future position in society.

Impact on American Culture:

• The Civil War profoundly influenced American culture, including literature, music, art, film, and sculpture.
• Baseball, initially popular in the Middle Atlantic states, spread nationwide during and after the war, with soldiers and prisoners playing the game, leading to the formation of numerous teams across the country.

Industrial Development and America as a World Power:

• The post-war period was marked by rapid industrial growth and material prosperity in the United States. The war tariff and war profits stimulated industrial expansion in the North.
• By the late 19th century, the U.S. became the world’s largest manufacturing country, aided by a vast domestic market and protectionist tariffs.
• Within a few decades after the Civil War, the United States emerged as a significant global power, driven by the industrial and economic developments initiated during and after the war.